


Order And Chaos

by Natizilda



Series: Origins [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Action/Adventure, Battle, Blood and Gore, Fights, Gen, Ninja
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-05-30 07:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6414790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natizilda/pseuds/Natizilda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of reclusion, Zed came back.</p>
<p>But he didn't come back alone.</p>
<p>He came back with an army.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act 1: Lord of the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, my first English fanfiction! How exciting!
> 
> This work is part of a series, called "Origins", where I write about the background of the character. It's kinda like writing the lore of the champions. Of course, I don't think my work is better than Riot's, this is just my interpretation of the characters that I most love. I'll update the series as long as I get more cool ideas to write (there's another fic already finished with the same concept), but for now, let's start with Shen and Zed!
> 
> I love writing adventure, action and fighting, but I must say that it was HARD. Hope you like it!
> 
> Thank you [@dubstepbard](http://archiveofourown.org/users/trashytalk/pseuds/dubstepbard) for helping me with the English translation and for having all the patience with me because I'm stubborn as fuck.

 

 A terrible scream, and then, silence.

Shen was standing still in the center of the courtyard, facing the door. His father's room was relatively wide, since he kept part of the sacred parchments that didn't fit the narrow library. Zed's "pupils" (were they just students, as he claimed? To Shen, they looked more like an army) surrounded him in packs, all too close. His self control was at its peak, but he couldn't make his heart stop pounding on his throat. He had sent the younger ninjas to their own rooms, expecting to keep them out of the way… And ordered them to leave, in case something happened.

He knew that his more experienced colleagues were waiting in the shadows, waiting for any sign of danger. That worried him: Zed's men were many, many more. If a fight broke out, it would turn into a massacre. But no. No fight was going to happen. There was a lot of sorrow between Zed and his father, yet he trusted Zed.

He was wrong to do so.

The terrible, terrible scream that echoed inside the quarters showed Shen that it was over. Zed had just cut his main bond with the order.

The ninja got out from the front doors, holding his father's head

 

_Not my father, my master_

 

by his hair, without his mask,

 

_He took the honor of my father, no, my master, before killing him_

 

the man's face as calm and collected as it was the last time they talked. Zed looked at Shen for a second and, with a disdainful movement, threw the head at his feet.

Shen didn't move. Zed laughed quietly.

"The great Shen, Lord of the Stars! I remember your ceremony, my friend. Your father received lash after lash and you didn't move an inch. It was impressive. I kept thinking 'wow, I'm going to be like this guy one day'. We are so dumb when we're young..."

Shen didn't move. Zed turned to his men.

"These two men were the center of the Order, my Chaotic! They kept  the power that's going to take our faction to glory and to eternal knowledge in secret. And now, look what we have: one’s dead, and the other is too scared to react!  
He paused for a while and looked to his rival one more time.

Shen didn't move.

Zed tilted his head, like a wolf interested in its prey. The closed helmet hid his face, but Shen could almost see the playful smile on his lips. His blood boiled in pain and hatred, but he couldn't move. He needed, more than anything, to save the lives of the others.

But Zed didn't need his action to react.

"Kill this condemned man and anyone who steps in our path. I have a chest to find."

As they were one, Zed's ninjas let out a salutation and immediately disappeared in the shadows. Two went after Shen, who took them down easily. At the same time, his colleagues got out of their hideouts in crowds.

When we imagine two enemy sides in battle, we think of war cries and heavy steps, grunts, screeches, swords clashing… But in a battle between ninjas, there's nothing of that. Fighting is silent. Steps are smooth. Swords do clash, sometimes, but most of the killing is subtle and unseen.

Shen crossed the battle camp, knocking down some enemies and avoiding others. He thought about calling Zed, but couldn't bring himself to say his name out loud. He knew where the other was going, and ran after him while making signs for his colleagues on the way. Shen could hear the fight happening around him and made the best he could to help his crew, but he needed to reach Zed.

Shen couldn't tell if he was trying to stop Zed because it was the right thing to do or just for vengeance, but he kept running. The Ark of Shadows lied on a temple far away from the main houses of the Order, at the end of an underground corridor. The sound of the fight diminished while he went down the stairs, and when Shen arrived at the corridor, it was like nothing happened, like it was just another normal day at the order…

It wasn't.

Shen started running again.

His steps echoed in solitude on the walls as he ran, and the light from the torches drew bright lines at the corner of his eyes.

Shen kept running.

 

There it was.

He desired that small and insignificant box for a long time. He wanted to extend his knowledge to his devotees. A faction - no, an army - made of shadow worshipers.The whole world would be his.

He ran the tip of his finger at the top of the box, forgetting everything for a while. He wanted to open it right away, but that wasn't the time; he had to take down the Order first. Just wanted to make sure… Make sure that the chest was still in the old man's possession.

What a fool…

Made he was too lost in his thoughts, maybe the calm mood of the place let his guard down, but Zed definitively wasn't expecting the kick that met his back.

After all, Shen was always an incredibly silent person.

 

Shen quickly drew Zed away from the chest with a kick, but hesitated before turning his attention to the small object. He wanted to protect the Order's legacy, but in front of him was the man who killed his father and laughed about it. And he was vulnerable. This split second of hesitation was enough for Zed to recover and get back to the fight, jumping quickly and ready to kill his rival.

Shen avoided the attack and drew out his swords, stopping one, two, three of Zed's consecutive blows. Both danced in front of the altar for a while, each one trying to land a killing strike to the other. What Shen had in strenght, Zed compensated in agility. But Zed had an advantage that Shen could never overcome: he was much younger, and took more time to get tired. At last, Zed pinned his rival on the wall with two big shurikens. Shen didn't have time to free himself: in an instant, a sharp blade rested right down his chin.

"I won. Again."

Both were panting heavily. Shen's mask was all shredded; the part that covered his left eye had been torn and fell down. Both had bruises in every inch of their bodies that weren't protected by armor. Zed's right blade was cracked, and made an ominous sound everytime he breathed.

Zed faced his rival, victorious, but didn't kill him. Not yet. For the first time he could see some hint of emotion on Shen's face: a mix of hatred, pain (both physical and emotional), grief and sadness. That was a real victory, more than having him cornered against a wall and about to behead him: he had broken his wall, his so cherished shield.

The Lord of the Stars was human, after all.

 


	2. Act 2: The Cat And The Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The second act of Order and Chaos. There are some nice dialogues in this one (I personally love writing dialogue in general), so I hope you like it!

The room blew up in smoke.

Zed didn't release Shen, but turned himself to find the responsible for the smokescreen. He felt an impact to the side of his body and tottered a little, caught by surprise. Immediately, an electric current went through his body and he couldn't promptly move.

"Kennen, the ark!" It was the voice of a girl.

No.

Not the ark.

He ran for the altar to see a tiny yordle grabbing the chest and lifting it up above his head. Seeing Zed made him throw a shuriken in his direction, and the ninja had to dodge it. It was the opening that the yordle needed, disappearing inside the smoke at incredible speed.

Someone was going to pay for this.

 

Akali easily took out the shurikens in Shen's arms, freeing him. The blades had reached flesh, and the holes in the fabric had some bloodstains, but that aside he looked fine. At least he was alert and could stand on his feet. Silently, they started to look for the exit before the smokescreen dissipated.

In one second, Akali was running in front of him.

in the next, she disappeared, falling to the right side.

Shen didn't scream, but suddenly stopped and sharpened his senses, looking for her. Zed had struck her, he was sure, but if he made a single noise it would just make the situation worse. She didn't scream either, which made him a little proud, but he could clearly listen to Zed's hateful voice.

 

He got close to the girl and pointed the blades on his arms in her direction, dangerously close to her face. She moved away, lifting the kamas and preparing to fight.

Zed didn't remember the girl. She probably entered the Order after he was deserted from the temple. She had dark, long and straight hair, and seemed to have the same age as his, maybe one or two years younger, although it was hard to know with half of her face covered. She advanced to attack with the kamas and he dodged, sliding his blades at the cable's weapon and controling her movement with his own weight. She turned her body graciously and threw a dagger in Zed's direction, who bent himself to avoid getting hit. The fight continued, a lot more confusing due to the smoke (that seemed to never end), and Zed couldn't stop being surprised by his opponent.

But all of this was tiring him. Zed invoked his twin shadows and released them torwards the woman, following them.

Apparently, she wasn't expecting Zed's attack. The force of the shadows threw her against the wall, and her weapons fell on the floor with a rumble. The smoke finally started to dissipate.

"So you think you can hide from me between smokes and shadows, lady? I  _ am _ the shadow, I  _ live _ in it. While you just use it as a cheap trick, I manipulate it as much as I want."

"So you really are the monster you seemed to be."

"And you shouldn't have gotten in my way."

He struck a full-strenght blow to her chest.

 

Or so he thought.

A purple shield had stopped his blade right at the moment of the attack, and he felt the impact run through his arm. In the next second, Shen appeared in front of him, dealinga blow with both of his swords, that Zed stopped in the nick of time. When he was ready to retribute his kindness, a loud "puf" was heard and the room filled with smoke once more.

"Really?" the shadow ninja let out, frustrated.

But there was no second attack coming from Shen. Both of them had run away.

"COWARD!" The shout echoed in the room, covering the sound of Shen and Akali's footsteps that rushed rowards the exit.

 

"I ordered you to guide the novices far away from the temple. What are you two doing here? What about the students? They can…"

"We already guided them outside before Zed could coordinate the attack."

"...Really?"

"You trust people too much, Shen. I mean, have you even looked at that guy? He looks like bad news! Me and Kennen decided to prevent any tragedy. And if he came just to get the forbidden ark..."

"Getting the ark wasn't his only objective."

"Well, what then…?"

They had already left the temple and were running through the forest that took them to the center of the Order. The moonlight revealed Shen's face and Akali noticed, judging by her master's expression, that he didn't want to talk about it.

"What's the plan of you both?"

"I told Kennen to hide the ark somewhere until the temple was s…."

Akali's voice disappeared while they entered the main courtyard. A lot of their colleagues were collapsed onto the floor, most of them dead, some badly injured, as well as several of Zed's ninjas. There were many more of them, and the ninjas of the Order were fighting against three, four enemies each.

Akali stepped forward to help, but Shen held her arm.

"Go after Kennen and take the ark far away from here. If Zed didn't reach us yet is because he decided to find the ark instead of killing us, which means that Kennen is in far more danger than any of us. And I forbid you to even think about opening the chest, understand?"

"But Shen, the temple..."

"Akali, this is important!"

"But this is my home, our home!"

"There's nothing we can do for it anymore!"

"Tell that to your father, then!"

"MY FATHER IS GONE, AKALI! He was the center of the union and order around here, and Zed knew that! The first thing he did when he came was..."

He couldn't finish the sentence. Akali gulped, holding back her tears after realising what happened. She never heard him talk so loudly. For the first time, there was urgency in his voice.

And pain.

But it shouldn't be that way.

"Well, then it's time for you to take the responsability in his place, Shen."

He faced her. The wall came back to his face, although there was a small hint of doubt in his look.

They looked at their colleagues, still fighting bravely. Akali stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, master. But this time I can't follow your orders."

She lifted her kamas.

"I have a family to protect."

She felt the huge and calloused hand of her mentor lightly land on her shoulder.

"We both do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you like! Critiques are welcome.


	3. Act 3: Shadows And Windblows

He could have killed them both.

It was easy. Both were worried about protecting each other, and that gave room for lots of mistakes. If he did his job quickly, there would be minus two enemies in his way.

But he couldn't.

He had defeated Shen; one last blow was enough. But, as he looked at him, a stream of memories, sorrow and remorse flooded his mind. He killed his own master, but couldn't kill his rival. Why? What was the difference?

When Zed entered Master Kinkou's room to talk to him, he was really expecting to have just a conversation, to state the rendition terms for the old man. But the master was adamant and refused to offer his temple to the Chaotics. He told Zed that "if he really wanted to take the temple, he had to fight for it. To the end."

And both of them battled in a fair sword duel. Zed didn't even use the shadows. It was clean and strictly followed the Kinkou tradition. And, in the end, Zed won, striking his blade at the man's stomach.

A duel of mutual consent, where one would get out victorious and the other, unfortunately, would die. But when the master died, it was clear for Zed that he wasn't accepted by the man who he once considered his father. He won, but never got to him, and never would. And with that thought full of hatred, Zed decided that his vengeance was against Shen, the dear one, the true-born son. Because of that, he threw the master's head at his feet. Because of that, he provoked Shen. Because of that, he took everything that was important for his rival.

But when facing him at last, Zed didn't have the guts to deal the final blow. He looked at those eyes and saw himself reflected on them, full of hatred, sorrow, grudge, grief, especially grief. That's why he couldn't kill the man that represented all his feelings so perfectly, and yet so much more clearly.

He followed the two ninjas outside the altar but, as he entered the woods in the temple's perimeter, Zed changed his course, looking for the yordle's trail. The ark was his main objective; he couldn't afford losing it. It was almost impossible to track an Order member, but he counted on the fact that the small ninja was carrying something half his weight. That would propably disturb his discretion.

  
  
  


Kennen slowly climbed the tower's staircase.

The Order's sanctuary had two towers of vigilance at the south, linked by a steady stone bridge. They were frequently used in the old days, but today they stood only as historical monument of the Kinkou order. And, God, it was high. Kennen started climbing fast, but he began to lose his rhythm as he went forward. Closer to the top he simply walked, praying that Zed wouldn’t find him easily. Kennen knew that sooner or later he would get caught, but with a little luck…

Finally reaching the top, Kennen stopped for a second to breathe. Then he started crossing the bridge. It was large and had a closed roof, but the walls were lined with huge windows with no glass, so it was airy and bright, and the wind always blew strongly there.

He felt the man's presence when he was halfway through to the other tower. The air was already restless at the bridge, but the arrival of Zed's shadows made it vibrate and heat up.

Kennen ran.

When he was almost at the tower, the ninja suddenly appeared, the choky and lethal laugh echoing from inside the helmet, like the air itself had materialized and transformed into the man's body. With no warning, Zed attacked Kennen, who jumped to the side and pulled his small shurikens full of electricity.

That's when Zed noticed something was wrong.

"Where is the ark?"

"What ark?"

The man attacked him, furious, but Kennen dodged again.

"Don't play with me you cheeky rat! WHERE IS THE ARK?"

"You wish!" With a laugh that would annoy anyone, the yordle sprinted through the bridge, running back to the first tower, leaving a trail of light behind him. Zed went after him, throwing his own, bigger shurikens in Kennen's direction. The chase went on until they arrived at the center of the bridge.

Kennen stopped and turned to Zed. The wind made his purple hood flap violently. Zed was still running madly towards him, and so the battle began.

As opposed to Shen (a big man, taller than Zed, stronger and heavier), Kennen was literally made of lightning. His way of fighting wasn’t equal to Akali’s either, which was also agile, but more gracious. Both of them clashed ferouciously, dodging each other's consecutive blows. Kennen vanished and appeared constantly in a blink, and both of them felt like every attack could be the last.

But this time, size favored Zed over Kennen: a particularly strong windblow entered the wide windows of the bridge and Kennen lost his balance. Taking advantage from the distraction, Zed descended his blade at full force, aiming the small ninja. Lost in a movement between dodging and regaining balance, Kennen managed to avoid the strike, but was attacked by the wind instead - and ended up flying out the window. He clinged firmly to the window's border, and seeing Zed aproaching him quickly, he had to think fast so he wouldn't end up falling into the river below them.

He grabbed the stone bricks outside the bridge. Luckily, he was at the opposite side of the wind, so he started to make his way towards the roof as fast as he could. A screechy sound announced Zed's chase, using the blades to help his climb. Kennen didn't risk looking behind him.

The wind was worse up the roof. He walked to the center with his head down, trying to offer minimal resistance to the drift, wondering whose idea was it to climb the bridge and remembering it was his own.

He looked back only to see Zed's blade sink through the roof's stone. He climbed in a boost and in an instant he was on his feet, looking down at Kennen, threatening.

And Kennen could barely stand up straight. How embarassing.

"I think that was enough of your stupid ideas today, right, dwarf?" Zed had to yell to overcome the windblow. "Or maybe you have something else up on your sleeve?"

"Maybe I do!" Kennen yelled back. And maybe he  _ did _ have.

"You can barely oppose the wind around you, yordle! What are you planning to do?"

"I don't need to oppose the wind, Zed!"

He straightened his back.

"I  _ AM _ THE WIND!"

And he let the windblast throw himself towards the man. Zed lifted his blades… But not fast enough. The moment Kennen touched the ninja's metal armor, Zed felt the yordle discharge all of his gathered electricity onto Zed's body, electrocuting both.

They fell off the bridge, tangled and briefly paralized by the charge. Kennen wasn't exactly worried about his own death, but he got really frustrated when Zed recovered midair and disappeared, using the shadow of the bridge beside them. With nothing to hold on to, Kennen had to let himself fall on the river.

_ At least I fell on the water _ , he thought, before losing counsciousness.


	4. Act 4: Smoke and Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot that I had to post the chapters here. Yep. Sorry.

One by one, the survivors got out from the tunnel below the sanctuary. Akali and Shen had sucessfully defended the ones who were fighting against Zed's troops and now were busy helping everyone escape. Maybe they didn't have any means to save the sanctuary, but at least they could save lives.

The concern about Kennen floated in the air between them both, but they couldn't go after their friend, at least not now; many of Zed's scouts were still looking for the rest of the Order, and Shen didn't want to put anyone in risk. Therefore, they decided to focus on the escape plan.

Some of them insisted on staying to help; and for that, Shen was grateful. He went to the courtyard where the war started that night, now empty of both soldiers and corpses. Someone were kind enough to take away his father's head after he went on to chase Zed, and now the mortal remains of the old master were put to rest eternally on his own room, covered by a white sheet. Shen didn't have the courage to enter and pay his tributes. And he hated himselft for that.

His sat on his crossed legs in the center, on meditation pose. He felt Akali sit behind him, her back touching his. He could "see" the few colleagues that remained hidden in the shadows, waiting…

"Do you think he's okay?" She whispered.

"I don't know. Kennen is far stronger than he looks. He's probably going to face Zed if he gets caught. And, honestly," he added, "it won't be easy for either of them."

But on the inside, Shen knew that Zed wouldn't be defeated. Even if Kennen wins the fight, Zed would shelter himself within the shadows and would wait for another opportunity to attack…

He heard the mettalic and demoniac laugh that followed his arrival.

Kennen failed.

Zed was coming.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The man appeared in front of him. Akali suddenly turned herself behind him.

"You sent a little rat to outwit me. I feel offended. But I'll admit. It was a pretty good fight. I recognize a good opponent when I see one.

Shen calmly stood up from the ground, dusting off the dirt from his gloves.

"Where is him, Zed?" He hear his friend say, angrily.

"Oh, who could tell? At the bottom of the river, maybe. I don't if yordles can swim. Paralized yordles probably don't. But don't you worry: his mission was fullfilled. I still hasn't found the ark. Believe me, I searched. It must be still inside the sanctuary, but the dwarf hid it pretty well.

He made a signal, and the rest of his followers arose.

"Now I only need to kill everyone left, and then I can search more carefully."

Zed's ninjas had rendered Shen's, and with only an order everyone would be killed. Shen sighed.

"This fight is between you and me, Zed. Let the others go. Akali can let them outside."

"What…!"

She looked at him, outraged.

He gave back the look, not with severity, but firmly.

_ Trust me. _

_ Everything's going to be alright. _

_ Save our family. _

I wasn't going to be alright, and both knew that. But if it was necessary for one of them to die so the others could survive, then so be it.

She nodded and turned to the other ninja.

"Is it okay for you, Zed? The whole Kinkou sanctuary, the ark and a last fight against your rival in exchange for survivors?"

Zed tilted his head, interested. He always looked more threatening while doing that.

At least, he nodded.

Zed's pupils let Shen's colleagues go, and Akali made a signal for them to follow her.

When everyone left, Zed turned to face Shen.

He knew that he owed him that. An one-on-one fight was the least he could do to show he respected Shen as Kinkou's new leader, even if Zed hated him as a man.

But what about his objectives?

Was it worth it to risk everything he promised his pupils just to preserve Shen's honor?

No, he couldn't do that.

No one could see, but Zed closed his eyes.

_ I'm sorry, Shen. _

_ I'm sorry, master. _

_ I failed. _

"Kill him."

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Truth is none of those man were a match for Shen.

He wasn't very fast and he knew that. His techniques and body build were, actually, considered strange for a ninja.

But by God Shen was resistant.

No one could take him down; no man could even make him stumble. He was the physical and emotional wall of the sanctuary. Bit by bit the others were falling, getting tired, but not him. The thing is few of them knew how to use his size and strenght against him. Zed could make him tired; those men weren't even trying. And Zed wasn't interested in interfering either.

But, after all, Shen was still human. A human that spent the whole night running, fighting, getting hurt, defending - he was getting tired, and he was emotionally destroyed. Slowly his attacks got sluggish, the movements of his opponents looked blurry on his eyes, and his vision entered in and out of focus more frequently.

A man stroke a blow on one of his swords and disarmed him.

Other made a deep wound on his shoulder.

They got him more and more cornered. Shen didn't have anywhere to go.

He was ready to die fighting. Smoke started to rise from the floor. Maybe it was his consciousness leaving him, or maybe the gates to hell were already claiming his presence. But it had to be real, because he could hear Zed scream, frustrated:

"Oh no, not this damn smokescreen AGAIN!"

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Akali grabbed Shen by his armpits and put him on his feet. She was surprisingly strong. Weird, he didn't remember falling at all.

"Hold on tight, buddy, the calvary arrived."

He looked beside him, his vision slowly going back to normal. Kennen was also there, but unlike Akali, who was the perfect picture of good shape, he looked like he was ran over by a Piltover truck.

"I had a pretty rough night today and I don't intend to answer any questions" he announced, as an answer to Shen's silent question.

"I found him on the margin of the river, holding on to a tree gtrunk. I told him to run away, but he insisted on coming."

"We are all screwed anyway!" He added, with a screechy voice. "OUCH!" A shuriken whirred and cut a tiny piece of his pointed ear. "OKAY, ENOUGH!" Before any of them could stop him, Kennen jumped out of the smoke. Akali and Shen went after the small ninja.

Kennen had stopped right in the middle of the courtyard and was yelling like crazy to the opponents. One second before reaching him, Shen and Akali figured what he was going to do and stepped aside.

A wide circle made of blue light formed around Kennen and electrocuted everyone who was inside. Zed's ninjas stood in place, contorting themselves unwittingly, And Zed himself wasn't anywhere in sight; he had probably predicted that, too.

"This rat is really clever, isn't he?"

Shen's blood froze after hearing that voice so close, he turned, but Akali was already a step ahead; she jumped torwards Zed, initiating a furious fight against him. He stepped up to help, but the exhaustion made him lose his balance. Noise was everywhere, his sight was blurry, he wanted to help, he needed to…

He saw Akali fall on the floor and roll far away from Zed, like she was in slow motion. He saw Kennen jump around, but he could notice his friend's movements get slower too. That couldn't last too much more… But in those conditions, Shen couldn't protect them...

Wait, he could. He still could.

"Akali, Kennen, here!"

They didn't need a second call. Both turned around and jumped torward Shen, just like they knew what he was going to do. He stood up and opened his arms.

Everything happened too fast, but for Shen, it was like everything froze. He perfectly saw Zed pull one of his huge shuriken and throw it in Akali's direction, howling in frustration, trying to kill her before she could run away. Shen pulled her roughly, worried about her safety, and felt Kennen grabbing his other arm. He held both of them in a hug, turning his back to Zed.

A purple shield appeared for the second time that night, surrounding them in a warm and protecting light. Shen squeezed his friends on his chest, praying for it to work: he never tried to teleport more than himself before.

He heard the confusing screams of the other ninjas, he heard Zed's constant shouting, he heard a terrible cry of pain. And then he heard nothing.


	5. Epilogue: Masks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the end!

The air fled from Akali's chest with the landing impact. She let herself on the floor, feeling pain from weird parts of her body. She could hear Kennen throw grumpy mumbling beside her.

"And today was my day out..."

When she was finally sure nothing would fall from her body, Akali stood up. The whole world spun around her, and she felt very nauseous. She held her stomach, looking around. A strong strawberry smell stormed into her nose.

It was exactly where they landed: in the middle of a strawberry farm. It was a stunning sight, actually. The Sun was rising, laying light rays between the leaves, and the fruit emanated a strong red tone. A light breeze made the leaves rustle, and the world has never been so soothing.

"Shen?"

The man didn't seem to be anywhere around. She stood at the tip of her feet, trying to see beyond the lines of plants.

At last she recognized a dark bulk, fallen a little bit on her right. She ran after him.

"Shen, you did it! You saved us! I don't even know how… SHEN!"

The urgency on Akali's voice made Kennen get up. He ran to see what happened.

Zed's shuriken missed Akali, but didn't miss the side of Shen's body. He was unconscious, and bleeding too much.

"Kennen, help!"

"Akali, you know first aid procedures, don't you?"

"I do, I always have a kit with me, but I don't know if I have one today..."

"You have to do something. Stop his bleeding, check his heart rate and make sure there's no other serious wound. I'm going to look for some shelter so we can treat him there."

"Allright."

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

It was too comfortable to wake up.

Shen could hear birds making a rattle somewhere. It smelled like hay and strawberries, and the air was strangely warm.

He kept his eyes closed. He could feel some kind of urgency in his heart, but couldn't remember why. A smal discomfort made him move his body, and the discomfort gave space to pain instead. Why was his whole body aching? He only used to feel like this after training against Zed…

Zed.

The sanctuary.

His dad.

The ark.

Kennen and Akali.

Shen opened his eyes.

Apparently, he was in some dark room, although small beams of sunlight invaded from the cracks of the wooden walls. He could barely distinguish two figures floating above his field of vision, looking at him. One was in green tones, the other was purple. He could feel the air strangely cold on his face.

"He's waking up."

"Finally, I was getting bored."

"Kennen!"

"I'm just kidding, chill out!"

The dark figures got clearer and Shen recognized his friends.

"How are you feeling?" Asked Akali.

"In pain."

"We're two."

"Three." Added Kennen.

She laughed. Shen stood in silence.

At last, he asked.

"Where are we?"

"In a farm at Valoran's countryside. It's a yordle's city," Kennen said.

"I don't remember trying to teleport here."

"Well..." Started Akali. "I think you lost consciousness while your energy was still ongoing. I don't know if that's possible, but I think the shield had to find another mind close to you to send us somewhere, so he chose one of us. It's the only explanation."

"But whose thought was it?"

Both of them looked at Kennen. He blushed.

"Hey, why me?"

"You said that yourself. It's a yordle's city."

"And just because I am one, does that mean I came from here?"

"Look, I don't know this place. Neither does Shen."

"Oh, yeah. Touché."

Everyone kept quiet. He sighed.

"Ok, I know this place, ok? That's where I was thinking about when everything happened. I was angry, and I always think about the farm when..."

He looked away from his friends.

"...When I need to."

"Well, anyway, congratulations to both of you. You saved our lives. Zed will never find us here. And talking about Zed and finding..."

She looked at Kennen.

"Where the hell did you hide the ark if he didn't find it anywhere?"

"Wow, it'll take a while for him to find out!" Kennen laughed out loud. "I hid it underneath his bed."

"You WHAT?!" The others asked, baffled.

"How did you know which was his room, to start with?" Added Shen.

"Simple. It was the only room that no one else could use. I went there quickly, hid the ark and then I left trails leading to the towers on purpose, so I could trick him. He will NEVER try to search underneath his bed, it's going to be amazing."

"Kennen, you're crazy." Akali sighed. "Well, he would find out where the ark is sooner or later, anyway… I don't think it matters that much."

She faced shen, who sat down, leaning his back at the barn's wall and making a frown of pain.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" He looked down. "There's no plan. We lost. Zeed took the sanctuary."

There was something wrong with his face. He stroked his hand against it to feel better, but the memories of last night's events came back at full force. He pretended to be tired while hiding his face with his hands. His nose was ice cold.

His nose.

"Where's my mask?"

His friends looked at each other.

"I'm sorry, Shen, I… We know that it's a mark of honor and we didn't want to take it off, but you were having a hard time breathing and your mask is made of metal, and too tight! We had to take it off. But I kept it with me, here..."

Akali's voice faded, scared that her friend and master would get upset, even angry. To her surprise, he smiled.

"It's ok. I understand. Thank you for everything you did to me."

She looked at him and smiled, relieved. She exchanged a look with Kennen and, with a synchronized nodd, both took off their masks at the same time.

Surprised, he looked at the whole faces of his (now) best friends for the first time. Kennen was a hairless yordle, who looked a lot like a cat with huge blue eyes. Akali had small chin and lips, and a flat nose. The three of them smiled together.

"Now we're all dishonored! Way to go!" Kennen lifted his arms like he was celebrating.

"I don't see that as dishonor. It's more like a trust pact, I think." Sentenced Shen.

He stood in heavy silence again. Several minutes passed before he could talk again.

"I had already lost my honor. I couldn't protect the sanctuary. Didn't kill Zed. Didn't avenge my father."

Akali's hand landed his shoulder and he looked up to her, filled with sadness.

"You didn't protected it? Shen, you offered your own life to save the survivors! You acted like a true leader of the Kinkou Order. Where is written that you have to avenge something? The Kinkou Order is about keeping the order in the world, and always spare the lives of the innocent. We'll have other opportunities to get the sanctuary back."

"How?"

"Well, how?!" Kennen exclaimed. "Zed left for years and came back with an army. Who can guarantee you won't do the same?"

"The only thing you can't do is give up. Your honor will fade the moment you give up on your goals. As long as you persevere, doesn't matter how many times you fail, your spirit will stay as a whole. That's how our order works."

"And after failing so much, it HAS to work one day, right?" - Questioned Kennen, at last.

Shen faced his friends and finally laughed, for the first time in a long time.

"Thank you. You're both right."

After that. The three sat side by side, eating strawberries. None of them knew what was going to happen from now on, but the first time, they didn't care. They just couldn't give up.

Never.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll post a new act every week! Leave comments and kudos if you like it. :)
> 
> Critiques are welcome!


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